A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method by which utilities and other power and natural gas companies in the power industry can effectively manage and utilize their power supply as well as position themselves for operation in the changing environment relating to the same.
B) Background Information Relating to the Present Invention
The preferred embodiment of the present invention which is disclosed herein was developed for the particular operating environment which exists in the area served by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and other areas which have somewhat similar operations (e.g. the Western Area Power Administration [WAPA] that operates the Hoover Dam). Further, much of the descriptive text available that describes the system and method of the present invention was prepared with specific reference to the area served by the Bonneville Power Administration. Accordingly, it is believed that a clearer understanding of the present invention will be obtained by relating this preferred embodiment specifically to the operating system in this operating area of the BPA and for convenience of the description, terminology and references will be made to the BPA and the practices in that area.
Also, the assignee of the present invention, which is responsible for the development and implementation of the present invention has adopted terminology describing this system. For example, the overall system is referred to internally by this company by the term “PowerBiz” (the trademark rights of which are being claimed by the Assignee of the present invention) and other terminology adopted by the assignee will appear throughout the text.
However, it is to be understood that this is simply done by way of illustrating this preferred embodiment, and these terms are not being used in a generic sense. Rather, the system and method of the present invention are intended to apply more broadly to other situations in environments where similar or related conditions would be present, and the elements or components having such designations (e.g. “Slice Optimizer”) are to be interpreted more broadly.
Also, the following text, the term “BPA” is intended not to refer just to the Bonneville Power Administration, but also to other companies or entities in the power industries which have operations sufficiently related to the concepts of the present invention so that the present invention will be applicable to such entities. Also, the term “Power Companies” is to be used in a broad sense to apply to any of the companies or entities which are engaged in the generation, distribution, use, and/or transportation of power, and more particularly, to those which are dealing in electrical power.
In the distribution of power by the BPA, there is what is called the SLICE System. The SLICE System is the BPA SLICE of the System (SLICE) product. SLICE is predominantly a hydropower generation resource. Like other hydropower resources, it is unique in that use of the resource today influences how much of the resource is available in the future. In other words, once water is released from a reservoir to generate electricity, that water is not immediately replaced. Nature replaces the resource through precipitation and runoff.
The SLICE product is delivered and managed in the form of electrical power. The amount of electrical power a SLICE participant receives is referred to as the SLICE entitlement. This entitlement is not a fixed number but a fixed percentage of the actual output of the Slice System Resources, and therefore is dependent on water conditions that occur in any given year. Also, the amount of SLICE energy delivered to a participant is not guaranteed, nor is the timing of power deliveries likely to match a participant's actual requirements over the course of a year.                The BPA SLICE product has several unique characteristics.        A small portion of SLICE is generated from thermal plants, which covers base load, and is included in the minimum generation limit.        SLICE is also comprised of multiple hydro resources, which means that as water is released from one hydro plant to generate electricity, the released water flows downstream through other hydro plants and generate additional electricity. The result of this downstream effect is addressed in the overall management of SLICE.        In addition, the BPA has ultimate control over SLICE. The participants are not buying any right to operate or control the BPA system resources by purchasing SLICE, and its reservoirs and hydro plants.        Because of this, the BPA will establish and maintain for each participant a SLICE System Storage Account (SSA) in order to determine if each participant is staying within the limits of the SLICE system to store energy and later release stored energy. The SSA is in essence a paper pond. A paper-pond is a contractual storage account, which may or may not correlate to a physical storage account. The SLICE Participant is obligated to maintain its paper pond within its prescribed upper and lower bounds, which change from day-to-day. BPA has the right to levy severe penalties if these bounds are violated.        
The participant may shape its SLICE delivery so long as the rate of delivery of SLICE is between the maximum and minimum operating limits established by BPA. BPA will calculate these limits and provide them to the participant for each day. The participant's SLICE SSA will be used to track the accumulate difference between the SLICE power received and the participant's SLICE entitlement.
The advantage of SLICE to the participant is that they can control how this resource in use. A SLICE participant can decide to minimize the amount of SLICE energy delivered to increase the amount of storage in its paper-pond, and conversely they can maximize the amount of SLICE energy and draw down their paper-pond. This flexibility allows a customer to use the SLICE product to counter market price changes. For example, if the market price is high, a SLICE customer can use SLICE energy in lieu of purchasing energy on the open market or they can generate excess energy and sell it. Likewise, if the market price of energy is low, a SLICE customer can reduce the use of SLICE energy and store the energy in the paper-pond.
The advantage to BPA is that they are relieved from the responsibility of meeting the customer's load. The customer has a greater degree of control of the power supply and the obligation to meet load. When the optimal use of SLICE results in deficits or surpluses, the SLICE participant must buy from or sell energy in the open market.
As will be discussed in more detail later herein, the system and method of the present invention determines how to best utilize the SLICE resource for an individual client and for a group of clients. The system is referred to as PowerBiz, and the company or other entity operating the system will be called the PowerBiz provider. The key component of PowerBiz is the Slice Optimizer, which creates an optimal Slice schedule.
As indicated previously, certain terminology used in this text is derived from terms that have been adopted by the Assignee of the present invention. Thus, as indicated above, the term “PowerBiz” refers to the entire system. The term “Slice Optimizer” relates to the computer system and associated components and/or methods in operating the same.
The system can be divided in to two primary functions.                Pre-Schedule Optimization        Real-Time Schedule Optimization        
The purpose of pre-scheduling is to identify the firm power needed to meet the forecasted load, as well as any surplus power available for disposal in the open market, and to ensure sufficient transmission exists to move that power. The forecasted load is prepared, based on a correlation of historical weather and energy use patterns. Adjustments for industrial and agricultural loads are also included in the forecasted load. Pre-scheduling is completed the day before the schedule goes into effect.
The purpose of real-time scheduling is to adjust resources to account for changes between the forecasted load and the actual load. Real-time schedule optimization provides information on how to adjust the use of SLICE resources when updated load forecasts based on actual take, and market prices change during the day.
Slice, for all practical purposes, is a hydropower energy resource, and as such, how it is used today effects how it can be used tomorrow. For example, using the Slice resource today to meet a load may mean the Slice resource is not available tomorrow to meet a load. Conversely, if you use less today, there will be more available tomorrow. Because of this, a lot of care must go in to determining how best to use the Slice resource. PRM's Slice Optimizer is designed to provide PRM's schedulers with the information necessary to schedule the Slice resource to achieve optimal economic results and meet the energy demand loads for a utility.